As I stepped out of the Greasy Creek Friendly Hostel in the dim morning light I could see the snow covered peak of Roan Mountain High Knob in the distance. My goal today was to conquer that mountain.
In 2003 I had made the trip to Tennessee to try and finish a previous hike from Georgia to Maine that had been aborted at Unicoi Gap, between Erwin, TN and Roan Mountain. As I recall, Roan Mountain was classified as a "2 Snickers" climb. That means I had to stop twice to eat a Snickers chocolate bar on the way up in order to have the energy for the climb. That climb was so tough that I injured myself on the first day out and returned home after only 1 day of hiking. A most discouraging outcome.
The first 5 miles rolled along easily until I reached Hughes Gap, the start of the climb. From that point I had to climb from 1900' to 6275' in just over 3 miles. The first 1.5 miles was really steep with few switchbacks. At 4000' of elevation the trail became covered in ice and snow and would stay that way until I had descended the other side. The final mile of climbing was about the steepest I had seen yet on the trail with many sections requiring me to strap the hiking poles on my back to crawl up. At times the trail seemed virtually unwalkable as it was sheer ice from one side to the other. Even now I can't imagine how I found enough traction to climb and descend with such treacherous footing. Anyway, after what seemed like hours I happened upon a crew of trail maintainers who were relaxing at the side of the trail eating lunch.
"Say, how much farther is it to the top of Roan Mountain?", I said.
"Oh you passed that about a mile ago, you're on the way downhill now."
What a relief! I had conquered Roan Mountain and was still feeling great. It was such a beautiful day that I kept hiking until the road crossing at US 19 near the town of Roan Mountain, TN. That gave me a day of 25.4 miles despite the conditions. Nice.
Mileage to date = 389.6
 |
| The Trail on Roan Mt. A tad slippery one might say. |
Dude, you sure you weren't off trail on your way up to Roan Mountain? Hughes Gap is at 4040' not 1900'...making it a 2200' climb on that 3 mile stretch. You must have found some rock face to climb up from 1900'...but at least it sounded like fun! :)
ReplyDelete